An Unlikely Partner
by Spades
Summary: Xander is send on a mission and hits head on with a problem he wasn't expecting. Can he handle the new challenge or will it get the best of him?
1. Default Chapter

            "Here's your new mission X. A new crime lord has been voted into place out in Los Angeles. His first day on the job and we're already getting reports on him. He's been asking around about the alpha chip. Heard of it before?" Gibbons asked as he slid the file across the desk to Xander Cage.

            "Yeah it enables the user to hack into any computer system it wants to. Still requires some work though, even with the chip."

            "Well he's been asking a lot of people about it. You know the usual, the person and their family, threatening them. We're worried about what he'll do with the chip. It can hack into the CIA, NSA, and a few other tight locked areas. In those data bases are the entire lists of all the undercover agents we have throughout the world. You can imagine what would happen if that list got out into the open."

            "Yeah, mass murder spree," Xander said as he slowly flipped through the folder.

            "Exactly."

            "Does he have anyone close to him? Like a mistress or girlfriend?" Xander asked leaning back in his chair.

            "He has an estranged wife and a fifteen year old son who hates his father with a passion. Those are the only two that I would consider close to him," Gibbons said as he stood up and walked around the table.

            "So I'm to go in, see if he has the alpha chip and bring it back if he does."

            "And if possible dethrone him, but that would be like the cherry on top. The FBI would love it if we could put him in jail. If we do then they'd tack on a few charges to make him disappear into the system."

            "Sure aren't asking for a lot are you Gibbs? Okay I'm off to Los Angeles to dig up dirt on Frost," Xander said and grabbed the file before leaving the room.

            A few hours later Xander was walking the streets of Los Angeles getting closer to Frost's wife's place. The sun was already set but it was early in the evening. Passing an alley he paused hearing something that sounded odd. Taking a detour he wandered down the alley and came across a small group of teenagers surrounding one teen. Nearing them he cleared his throat and looked at all of them when they turned to look at him. The teen they had circled had a bloody lip and a black eye and it seemed to be one against about five or six.

            "Seems to me this is a slight unfair advantage you guys have. So why don't you boys run along and leave my little friend alone," he said choosing to do his deed for the week.

            "And what if we don't?" one asked who looked to the oldest.

            "Well then you're going to be messing with me and that is something you don't want to do," he said as the kid walked up to him.

            "And why is that?"

            "Because I really don't want to add your name on the list of people I've killed, now leave before I put you on the list," he said and saw the look of fear pass over the kid's face.

            The kid and the group left leaving the teen they had ganged up on. Looking at him Xander realized that it was Frost's son.

            "You're Cole Taylor, aren't you?" Xander asked recognizing the face from his file.

            "Yeah so what if I am?"

            "I was actually on my way to see your mother," he said honestly knowing that it was the best way to go with a fifteen year old.

            "What do you want with my mom?" he asked cautiously and Xander had to respect his protectiveness.

            "I want to talk to her about some things."

            "You want to talk to her about my father. Don't you?" he asked and Xander slowly nodded his head.

            "Yeah I do actually. You want to walk with me since I'm heading that way?"

            Cole eyed him warily and slowly started walking towards Xander and eventually passed him signaling to Xander that it was okay with him. Quietly he walked after him and quickly caught up to him with only a few strides. The two of them walked out the alley and down the street and Xander looked around him but discreetly watched Cole as they walked down the sidewalk. The young boy was slightly grimy and it was apparent that he was on the streets the majority of the time. His dark brown hair was straggly and a bit grimy and he had a bit of grease smeared on his cheek.

            "So how many cars did you jack today?" Xander asked and saw the shock on the kid's face.

            "How-"

            "Your pocketknife in your pocket that I can see tells me. It's been altered for a car jacker with the wire shavers and a master key. That and your hands have the slight burns on them from the wires that shocked a temporarily careless car jacker but you're no rookie are you?" he asked with a smug look knowing that the kid wouldn't admit it.

            "How many guys have you killed?" Cole asked avoiding the question.

            "What?"

            "You told Brad that you killed a lot of guys and that you were going to make him one of the dead guys."

            "Oh that. I killed only the really bad ones who tried to kill me. But they had it coming to them," he said and looked down at Cole with a slight smirk.

            "And you want to kill my father?"

            Xander turned and looked at him shocked a bit at Cole's insightfulness. Xander had to think quickly about what to tell the young boy. Looking at him he could tell that Cole had no close love for his father.

            "And if I tell you honestly that I was here to put him away. Not exactly kill him but stick him in jail for a few long years what would you say?" he asked stopping and turned to the young boy.

            Cole also stopped and turned to look up at Xander. The young boy and wise agent looked at each other and took the other in and evaluated their opponent.

            "I'd say: how can I help?"

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Okay everyone there is the new story. This is one that I'm writing for an online friend, he IMed me and asked me to write this story because he can't write and he really wanted it to be put out there. So he gave me the base idea and I played with it and wrote a bit and piddled a bit with the idea and finally got where I wanted to go with it. So everyone please R/R and tell me what you think. Peace. P.S. Am I good or what? I got two stories updated and a new one up in the same night. Yeah cheers for me.


	2. Chapter 2

          Xander followed the young boy to a run down part of the city and to a shabby apartment complex. Walking up the stairs to the third floor Xander took in all of his surroundings as Cole unlocked a door and pushed it open. Motioning for Xander to come in she closed the door behind him and locked the multiple locks on the door before pulling off his coat and tossing it on a nearby chair.

          "Mom I'm home! I've brought someone with me!" he yelled into the apartment as he walked into the kitchen and pulled out a glass from the cabinets.

          "Who is it this time?" a female voice asked as Xander heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen.

          The woman that came around the corner looked to be in her early thirties and held herself with a sense of pride that you only found in a few people. That pride that would make every bad experience into a good one and wouldn't let the world around them beat them down for fun. She looked over Xander trying to decide if he was to be trusted near her son and her and her eyes eventually rested at his hip. She saw the faint bulge under his coat and knew exactly what it was. Someone else might not have noticed it but she did for it was something she saw daily.

          "You look trustful but prove it. Take the gun out and remove the clip," she said as Xander faintly smiled in respect for her keen eyes.

          Slowly pulling aside his coat he removed his gun before pulling out the various darts and the few bullets. Reaching out, he set the gun on the dinner table and carefully placed the darts beside the weapon being careful with the green darts. Cole's eyes widened upon seeing the weapon and slowly reached out to touch it but jumped when Xander grabbed his hand and shook his head.

          "I wouldn't touch those if I were you. Especially those green ones; just one can put me out for about twelve hours. Hate to see what it'll do to you," he said nodding to the little green darts that he almost hated with a passion but had to admit that they were good for when he needed them.

          "Now who are you and what are you doing with my son?"

          "My name is Xander Cage and I work for the NSA. I was on my way here when I came across your son in a small alley fight and decided to help him out," he replied glancing over at Cole.

          "Who was it this time Cole?" she asked as she looked over at her son.

          "Brad."

          "Is that where you got the black eye and split lip?" she asked and Cole slowly nodded.

          "Go and get cleaned up while I talk with Mr. Cage about your father Cole," she said and gently pushed him towards the hallway.

          "But mom-"

          "I said go Cole. Don't make me say it again," she said sternly as Cole looked between his mother and Xander.

          With a sigh he walked away into the hallway and disappeared from sight as Xander listened to the footsteps fade down the carpeted floor. The woman turned to face Xander and slowly looked over him with a grim look.

          "I didn't get to catch your name ma'am," he said trying to play it dumb.

          "If you work for the NSA then you already know my name so I don't have to tell you. Don't play stupid with me; it pisses me off more than you know. Why were you coming to see me?" she asked as she moved around the kitchen. "Want some coffee?"

          "Coffee will be great. My boss and a few other people in the government want something back that your husband stole. Ever heard of the alpha chip?"

          "No I-"

          "You mean the alpha chip?" a voice asked emphasizing the word 'the'.

          Both of them turned to look at Cole who stood in the doorway and stared at Xander in shock.

          "Yeah, you know about it?"

          "Who doesn't? That chip is able to hack into any network system that the user points it towards. It could cause major damage to certain systems if the hacker helps it along a bit. Does your mission involve the chip?" he asked eagerly as his mom, Shannon, placed a mug of coffee in front of Xander.

          "Yeah it does actually. My boss and the government believe that your dad has the chip and might try to do some bad stuff with it," he said before he took a careful sip of the steaming coffee.

"Like what?" he asked with the unmatchable curiosity of a fifteen year old kid.

"Hack into the FBI mainframe, CIA, any government he wants to get into. Destroy any company that has protected data in its system. Bank records, government files, top secret lists. All of the kind of stuff that bad guys want," he said knowing that his own safety was at issue.

The alpha chip could also hack into the NSA main database and that held all the names, code names, and everything about every secret agent that worked for the NSA. Xander was hoping to get the chip and stop an all out agent massacre if that chip got out in the open and revealed the information about all the secret agents in North America and Europe. He wanted to slap himself for thinking that way but he knew it was true and he really did not want that to happen at all costs.

"Cole, can I talk to your mother alone for a bit please?" he asked looking to Cole.

He looked between Xander and his mother and waited for her approval. When she nodded to him, he turned and walked into the living room and turned on the television. Xander looked up at Shannon as she sat down in the chair across from Xander and clasped her hands on the table in front of her and looked at her nails.

"You came here to see if you could get any information from me about my husband did you?" she asked quietly before he could say anything.

"I did. I don't want to go barging into a situation that I don't know a lot about and I felt that you would have the most in depth information that I needed. I understand if you don't want to help but I really need it."

She laughed but there was no humor in it; it was a hollow laugh that came from her, lacking any emotion. She rubbed her hands over her face and pulled her hair away from her face as she stared at the table.

"Kyle is a vicious and manipulative man. I don't even remember what I saw in him before I married him. He was so different then from what he is now. He was kind, charming, considerate, and I even started to believe that he really loved me; but then he started to work with the guys that ran the downtown clubs and he started to slowly change. It started off slowly you know, come home late a few nights, be gone some weekends, start to get odd phone calls. Then I started to notice a dramatic change in our bank account, more money here and there, and large deposits. Some times up in the thousands and when I asked him about it he just said that he had some extra jobs on the side. From then on the problems just continued to escalate and he started to get worse and worse. It seemed like it happened almost over night but I know it didn't. Then entire time we were married the best thing I ever got out of it was Cole," she said with a faint smile and glanced over to looked at the teen on the couch watching television. "A few years after Cole was born, he was about five or six I think, Kyle hit me and I left that night."

"It took a lot of courage to do that. A lot of women don't do a thing," Xander commented quietly as she snorted softly.

"Yeah well I'm definitely not one to let something like that slip. You probably won't believe it but I used to be a tough cookie before I got married and had a kid," she chuckled and Xander had to smile.

"I don't know; you still have that tough cookie image even if it's a bit diluted," he smiled and she chuckled.

"Thanks for the compliment Xander. What do you want to know about Kyle?"

"Anything you can tell me."

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Okay everyone there is the new chapter for this story. I am so sorry about not getting it up fast enough but I had just absolutely no motivation for this story but now I do so hopefully I'll get some more chapters out as quickly as I can. That is if classes and that other shit don't get in my way. So everyone please R/R and tell me what you think. Peace everyone.


	3. Chapter 3

            Several hours later Xander was still at the apartment with Shannon and Cole. Shannon had told him everything he could have every wanted to know about Kyle Frost and his habits. She gave him the addresses and numbers of his close contacts and what she did know of his daily activities before they separated. While she told him everything, she made dinner for the night and Xander was happy to stay and eat dinner with them. He found himself growing close to the mother and son set that he had come to find information from. Cole had a wicked sense of humor that often caught Xander off guard and had an inquisitive sense of curiosity that caused him to ask multitudes of questions that Xander tried to answer successfully. Shannon had a sense of ease and comfort about her that made anyone comfortable around her. She was open with her emotions and feelings but kept them in check and didn't let them get out of control. She obviously cared deeply for Cole and the feeling was returned from the young teen. Xander could easily see the bond the two had and almost envied it. He hadn't seen his mother in ages and he vowed to do so when he finished this case and spend some time with her. Once dinner was done, Xander remained in the kitchen to help Shannon with the dishes while Cole went to watch television in the family room. Xander glanced over his shoulder at Cole and smirked to himself before turning back to washing the dishes. Shannon was standing next to him, drying the dishes and putting them in their respectful places.

            "Cole is a great kid. You must be proud of him," he said softly as he rinsed off a dish and handed it to Shannon.

            "I am proud of him. More and more every single day. I'm terrified of what he may have turned into if I had stayed with Kyle. Kyle is like a fierce flame; burning bright but not giving off any warmth," she said and Xander looked over at her.

            "'A fierce flame; burning bright but not giving off any warmth'? Are you a poet or something?" he asked with a smile and saw her blush slightly.

            "No, not a poet. I wish I was but right now I'm a waitress. Pays well but I want something better for my boy," she replied and brushed away a stray strand of hair.

            "You should be a poet; or a writer."

            "A writer; I dreamed of being a famous writer when I was a little kid. I wrote these pathetic little stories that I dreamed up of and put them on paper. Jesus that seems so long ago now that I think back on it," she muttered and moved around the kitchen to put away the dishes and cups.

            Xander pulled out the plug and watched the water swirl down the drain before emptying. Catching the towel that Shannon threw at him, he dried his hands and tossed the towel back onto the counter to his side. He followed Shannon into the family room and looked down at Cole to see that he was asleep on the couch.

            "I'd hate to wake him but he'd be more comfortable on his bed," she whispered and reached for Cole's shoulder to wake him.

            Xander caught her hand and shook his head before moving her aside and gently slid his arms under Cole's body to lift him into his arms. Cole murmured a few words but didn't wake as Xander gently nudged Cole's head to rest on his shoulder. He followed Shannon down the hallway and into the small room that was obviously Cole's as she pulled back the blankets on the bed and Xander gently lowered the boy into the bed. Stepping back, he watched as Shannon rid Cole of his shoes and sweatshirt before pulling the blanket up to cover the teen. He smiled slightly when Shannon gently dropped a kiss upon Cole's head and brushed her hand against his head. When she turned away, he stepped out of the way as Shannon cracked the door closed and motioned for him to go back towards the family room. The two of them walked silently into the room as Shannon found the television remote and turned off the television before sitting on the couch. Xander followed suit as Shannon folded her legs under her and let the silence wash over them.

            "What are you going to do once you get Kyle?" Shannon asked softly as Xander turned to look at her.

            "I'm not exactly going after Kyle himself. I just want to get the chip; the FBI will deal with Kyle once I'm done with my mission."

            "I see," she replied and stared at something on the wall above the television. "Did you really mean what you said earlier?"

            "I said a lot of things earlier. Refresh my memory," Xander said jokingly.

            "That I should be a writer or poet."

            "Yeah, I did. Everyone should chase their dreams and at least try to be what they dream of being. You seem to have a way with words, at least when you're talking, so do some writing and send it to a publisher. You wouldn't lose anything by doing it. And later you can say that you at least tried. Taking that first step is always the hardest."

            "What did you used to do before you became an NSA agent? You don't seem the type of guy that chooses a life of law enforcement; you don't even seem to be a fan of it," she asked as she looked over his visible tattoos that adorned his arms.

            "Believe me, it wasn't the first thing that I wanted to be when I was growing up. I was actually into extreme sports and some stuff that could be seen as both bad and good. One of my adventures worked out great until the NSA needed a new breed of agents for a specific case. I caught their attention so they recruited me and I've been in it ever since," he said and almost cringed at the memory of the incident.

            "Recruited you? I get the feeling you didn't want to be recruited."

            "No, not really. It was either work with them and they clear my record or I get sent to prison. I chose to work for them; I mean come on I get to blow things up for fun. It can't get any better than that," he smirked and was rewarded with a soft chuckle from Shannon.

            "So you like to blow things up?"

            "Hell yeah. What guy doesn't?" he said and glanced down at his watch. "I better be going. I need to find out what I'm going to do tomorrow with the information you told me."

            "What's going to happen now?" she asked as she stood up with him and they walked into the kitchen to retrieve Xander's gun and darts.

            "Well I'll try and get close to Frost and see if I can find out where he keeps the chip. I'll get the chip and any other information I can get and then give the chip to my boss and the information to the FBI. They'll take him down from there on," he said and pulled on his jacket.

            "I know I probably shouldn't ask this of you Xander. But if something happens to me or if Kyle tried to come after Cole and me; can I count on you to help us? Nothing like jumping in front of a bullet for us or anything, but witness protection. Kyle is a powerful man and has connections everywhere. I fear he may come after Cole and me if he finds out that I sent you to him with everything I know."

            Xander looked at Shannon and saw the faint hint of fear in her eyes at the though of what her ex-husband might do to her son. He knew he wasn't in any place to promise witness protection but he assumed that Gibbons was in a position to do so. He only didn't know if Gibbons would do it if he asked if of him.

            "I can't promise anything Shannon but I can do this. If you have any fears that Frost may be coming after you and Cole then you can stay at my place downtown. It's a small loft that NSA agents use if they're in this city; it's not very lavish but it's a place to stay where no one knows about it. I'll talk to my boss about witness protection and see what he says; he's a pretty understanding guy," Xander assured and paused for a moment while he thought about Gibbons. "Correct that; he'll understand you, not me. He doesn't like me very much; he had me shot twice."

            "Poor baby," she replied sarcastically and smiled.

            "Yeah, yeah; your sarcasm is not appreciated. I'll come by tomorrow some time and we can finish talking."

            "I'll be here any time after four o'clock."

            Xander nodded and opened the front door to let himself out and into the darkened hallway of the apartment complex. Walking down the steps and out of the building, he turned to the left and started down the street. His car was parked a few blocks away and the walk gave him some valuable time to think over everything Shannon told him about her ex-husband. He seemed to have his hand in every big cash pot in the city; drugs, prostitution, cars, girls, valuable artifacts and paintings; the list seemed to go on and on. Xander just had to figure out which one would be the quickest and easiest way to get close to Frost without attracting attention. Pulling out his cell phone, he prepared a message to himself to remind him when he talked to Gibbons the next day. Gibbons could get a hold of anything he asked for and hopefully he could get a few things to help Xander a bit. Seeing his car up the street, he pulled out the remote and unlocked the doors before slipping in behind the steering wheel and starting up the car. Driving towards the loft that he occupied, he made a mental note to call Gibbons in the morning when he woke up.

            "How is your mission going X?"

            "It's going fine so far seeing how it's only the second day and I haven't left the loft yet. Yesterday I met with Shannon Frost and her son Cole at their apartment. Shannon provided me with a lot of information and I need to ask you some things about it," he said and rubbed a hand over his bald head.

            "Go ahead, I'm listening."

            "She's worried that Frost is going to come after her son and her, and she wants to know if we can do witness protection for them. I didn't say anything because I don't know and I figured that you would know," he said and paced the room slightly in front of the small screen.

            "Are they in a dangerous position?"

            "Once I start to get to work, they will be. The information she gave me is the kind that only a very close one would know. This Frost guy has his paws in everything illegal in this town and probably has several informants at his disposal. Once he finds out everything, he might guess that it was his ex and have some of his people go to finish the job even if he's in the FBI lockup. Shannon told me that his reach is far and wide and doesn't let anything stand in his way of what he wants or needs to do."

            "Does he have his hands into the political circle?"

            "He has about two hands in there and is stirring up some things. It's not a democracy over here in Los Angeles anymore. He isn't making a big shift in things, it's slight but everyone knows who's doing it even if they don't speak up."

            "This could prove to be troublesome if he's tied to the political sector. Do you think we should put the ex-wife and son in protective custody and do witness protection?"

            "I would wait till after the trial, if there is going to be one. They could be good witnesses and then put them in witness protection. I offered them the opportunity to stay in the flat here with me till everything calms down. No one knows where it is except NSA personnel and they would be safer here then at their apartment. I think it's logical," Xander said as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

            "Good thinking X. Keep a close eye on them and make sure nothing happens to them over the next few days or however long you are there. Anything else?"

            "Yeah, I need a way to get into Frost's circle of friends. He is into stolen artifacts and paintings; anything you could do to help me out a bit here?"

            "Give me a day or two and I'll send you a special package," Gibbons muttered as Xander nodded.

            "Good, I love getting packages from you. They always blow up and make big craters whenever I use them. I need false papers for whatever you have me doing or being and a good outline so I can act the part."

            "I've been doing this much longer than you Xander; I don't need your reminders to help me do my job," Gibbons growled and Xander laughed.

            "I'm just watching out for you Gibbs; you are getting a bit old."

            "I can still take you on X."

            Xander laughed and shut down the video screen as he picked out a few things from his suitcase. Picking up his coffee cup, he collected his shower things and headed for the shower to clean up before going to Shannon's. 


End file.
